Shelby fire asks for 0.25% income tax for 5 years for equipment, manpower, housing

Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal
·6 min read

SHELBY - Shelby firefighters will ask voters to approve a 0.25% income tax for five years on the Nov. 7 ballot to commence Jan. 1, 2024. Tax dollars will be dedicated to to fire and EMS equipment, providing manpower and adding on to the station.

The levy will generate roughly $500,000 annually for the fire department. Only citizens inside the city limits will be voting on the issue.

Mike Thompson, Shelby Fire chief, addresses the media at a press conference on April 15, 2019.
Mike Thompson, Shelby Fire chief, addresses the media at a press conference on April 15, 2019.

For decades the City of Shelby contracted with a private ambulance service for primary EMS coverage in the city. EMS service was also contracted with the townships, Shelby fire Chief Mike Thompson said, providing written information.

  • The private service and Shelby Fire would respond to every 911 EMS call together. The private service would transport the patients. SFD only transported if there were multiple patients or more than one call going on at the same time.

  • Usually, Shelby fire was the first to arrive at the scene and would initiate treatment. The private service would then load the patients and collect the revenue.

  • The private service would provide two personnel 24 hours per day, for EMS only. Shelby fire had a minimum of three personnel on duty each day that covered back-up EMS, fire, and all other fire department related duties.

Why did Shelby fire take over EMS?

Shelby firefighters battled a fire at 52 E. Main St., in this f2023 ile photo. No one was inside the structure at the time of the blaze. The unknown business also is a residence, Shelby fire Chief Mike Thompson said.
Shelby firefighters battled a fire at 52 E. Main St., in this f2023 ile photo. No one was inside the structure at the time of the blaze. The unknown business also is a residence, Shelby fire Chief Mike Thompson said.

  • In September of 2022 the contracted private service (Superior Ambulance) informed the city that a subsidy was needed for them to operate in the district.

  • The contract with Superior Ambulance ended at midnight on Oct. 13, 2022. The contract was for three years with two additional one-year extensions. Both parties were going into year four of the contract.

  • Superior Ambulance gave the City of Shelby roughly three weeks to start transporting all 911 EMS patients. The administration of the city did a great job in getting everything in place.

  • The private service wanted $350,000 annually from the city in subsidy. The private service would also continue to hard bill the residents.

  • This was the first time any private service asked for a subsidy. Until this time no subsidy was paid by the city or townships.

  • When the decision was made to take over all 911 EMS calls several issues needed to be addressed. These include manpower, equipment, and housing.

First, SFD had to add manpower. The private service provided two personnel daily for EMS coverage. At least one of the private ambulance personnel had to be a paramedic. Shelby fire did not have enough paramedics on staff to cover primary transports. Three paramedics were hired to solve the issue. The hiring brought each shift at SFD up to five.

Shelby Fire keeps five personnel on duty each day. If there is a two-car vehicle accident there must be two EMS personnel on each ambulance if transport is needed. The fifth person responds with an engine to the scene for controlling hazards or extrication of patients if needed. On 16.3% of Shelby Fire Department's responses are double calls or all the on-duty manpower is required.

Secondly, SFD had to add equipment. The new personnel are professional firefighters and paramedics. Firefighting gear had to be purchased to outfit the new employees.

This is all that was left of a barn at 4165 Funk Road, Shelby in this file photo. Shelby firefighters fought the blaze with mutual aid from Crestline, Springfield Township and Tiro fire departments. The residents lost tools and recreational equipment. Even this tree was still smoking due to dry conditions and strong winds.
This is all that was left of a barn at 4165 Funk Road, Shelby in this file photo. Shelby firefighters fought the blaze with mutual aid from Crestline, Springfield Township and Tiro fire departments. The residents lost tools and recreational equipment. Even this tree was still smoking due to dry conditions and strong winds.

SFD had two ambulances at the time of the takeover. One of the ambulances is a 2006 model. Two squads are needed all the time in the district. There have been several times multiple patients or calls required other units.

A new squad was purchased and arrived at Shelby Fire Sept. 19. Shelby fire will be keeping the 2006 ambulance as a backup. If one of the other two are out-of-service for maintenance, SFD would still have the capability of having two squads ready to respond. The 2006 unit needs to be replaced.

The third issue is housing the new hires. The Milliron Family gave the citizens of the fire district the gift of a new fire station. This act of generosity, caring and kindness for the city may never be matched again.

For the first time, SFD had a dedicated training room at the new station. With adding personnel, the training room is now a bedroom. When the fire station expands, the chief would like to add two bedrooms and a storage area. Currently equipment is in the old station and the department needs to get three trailers out of the flood plain and have them on site at the new station. This will require building a storage shed.

Hard billing versus soft billing:

  • "When we used a private service for primary EMS calls, they would hard bill the patients. The practice of hard billing is when the private service would bill your insurance company, then charge the patient for the remainder. If the patient did not pay the remainder, the private service would send the bill to collections. Since no subsidy was paid by the city, the private service charges were quite high. We had reports of out-of-pocket bills in the thousands to the patients," Thompson said.

  • SFD utilizes soft billing. "When we transport a bill is sent to your insurance company. We accept whatever insurance will pay. Three statements are sent to the patient for the difference of our charges and what insurance covered. However, we do not take anyone to collections," the chief added.

Shelby Fire Fighters union message:

“Shelby Professional Fire Fighters are dedicated to the safety of our citizens and understand what it takes to provide the quality Fire and EMS services our resident demand and deserve. We look forward to the opportunity of discussing the importance of approving the Fire Levy on Nov. 7,” Capt. Sam Sauder, president of Shelby Professional Fire Fighters, said in a statement.

The Shelby Fire Levy is a reasonable and fair-minded measure that will enhance public safety while avoiding any tax increases on retirees and senior citizens who rely on emergency EMS services the most, he said.

“As the demands for 911 services continue to increase, firefighters must have the necessary resources to ensure we can provide an effective and efficient response while also being good stewards of our citizens tax dollars; approving the fire levy will allow us to meet that challenge.” Sauder said.

“An investment in public safety now will solidify our fire and EMS resources for years to come.  Our citizens deserve the best and they can be assured that if firefighters have the resources they need, firefighters will do their very best to make Shelby a safe place to live, work, and raise a family,” Sauder said.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby: For fire, EMS equipment, providing manpower, adding on station